Ron Johnson aides sat on whistleblower tips on Tomah VA

A congressional field hearing will look into allegations of overprescribing of opioid painkillers to veterans at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Credit: Darren Hauck/ Center for Investigative Reporting

But a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who ran the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Federal Contracting Oversight, said Sunday that the whistleblower complaints never reached her or others in charge of the panel.

The oversight subcommittee couldn't have taken formal action on the complaints last year without the involvement of the chairwoman or other Democratic members of the committee.

"Neither Claire nor the majority staff received notification of these complaints," said John LaBombard, McCaskill's spokesman.

A Johnson spokeswoman responded Monday that the complaints filed last fall by Ryan Honl, a former Tomah employee, did go from one Johnson aide on his Senate staff to Johnson aides assigned to the subcommittee.

And there the complaints died.

Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, was the highest ranking minority member of the oversight panel last year. The Senate and subcommittee staffers both report to Johnson but have different command structures.

"Our state staff referred the case to Senator Johnson's appointees to the subcommittee staff," said Melinda Schnell, the senator's communications director.

"Because our subcommittee staff did not have the report, they did not, at the time, appreciate the severity of the problems at Tomah — nor did they bring the matter to the senator's attention."

The report referred to by Schnell was a document prepared by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General last year that found officials at the Tomah medical center were prescribing high amounts of opiate pain pills to patients.

Veterans who relied on the facility for care had begun calling it "Candy Land." Federal officials are now investigating the deaths of three individuals who were treated at the Tomah medical center.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, has come under fire for obtaining the inspection report in August but not acting until a January news story detailing the problems at the Tomah facility. Baldwin has fired one high-ranking staffer and is conducting a review of how her office handled the matter.

For months, Honl had tried unsuccessfully to get Johnson, Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat, to intervene.

"We have forwarded your information and explanation to the D.C. office and they will be sharing with the committee that overseas (sic) jurisdiction of the VA," Nielsen wrote, according to a January story by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

Schnell said in that news story that Johnson's office prides itself "on being efficient and responsive with constituent casework" and that the senator referred the matter to staff at an unspecified Senate subcommittee.

What was not clear in any of those accounts was that the complaints simply changed hands from one Johnson aide to other members of his staff. Schnell declined to name the staffers, citing privacy concerns.

Schnell said there was nothing disingenuous about her earlier remarks. The complaints did end up with staffers assigned to the oversight subcommittee, meaning Honl's concerns were, in fact, relayed to the panel.

Even if that proved the equivalent of a congressional black hole.

Also, Schnell is now saying that Johnson was unaware of what was going on at the troubled VA hospital last year.

"Senator Johnson had no personal knowledge of the initial contact to his office and was unaware of the problems at the Tomah VA until he first learned of the nonpublic VA OIG report on Jan. 12, 2015," Schnell said.

"The senator took swift action by calling on the (inspector general) to provide immediate answers," she continued. "In addition, Sen. Johnson called on President (Barack) Obama to appoint a permanent IG."

Johnson, who is in his first term, is up for re-election next year. He is expected to face off against former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, whom he defeated in 2010.

It's relevant that Honl's complaints never made it to McCaskill or her staff because minority members can't take actions through the oversight subcommittee without the help of the chairwoman or those in the majority party.

These actions would include everything from co-signing letters and document request to organizing witness interviews and issuing investigative reports.

Johnson worked closely with McCaskill on the subcommittee's investigation into the Secret Service last year. The final report was issued and signed by Johnson and McCaskill.

Patrick McIlheran, a policy adviser for Johnson, noted the complaints arrived while the Senate was in recess and shortly before the general election. The Senate flipped from Democratic to Republican control in November.

Reached over the weekend, Honl said all three Wisconsin lawmakers failed him.

"I know people on both sides are looking for partisan fights, but the fact is all three offices have egg on their face," Honl said via email.

He noted that he was contacted by one individual after Nielsen told him that the complaints were forwarded to the oversight subcommittee. But Honl, a Gulf War veteran, did not have the individual's name or phone number.

Since the news stories detailing the problems at the Tomah medical center, Honl said Johnson's staff members have been in contact with him almost daily, admitting they erred and providing him support.

By comparison, he said he has heard only occasionally from Baldwin's staff over the past two months.

Honl said his favorable remarks about Johnson and criticisms of Baldwin are not being partisan politics.